The kingdom of God in our midst

But while the people wanted God to be their king, their idea of salvation was eclipsed by their longing for political freedom. They expected a Savior who had enough powers to overthrow their Roman conquerors. When Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is at hand” he wanted to announce the beginning of a culture of repentance. The Jews did not grasp this meaning. They insisted on a Messiah with the power to change the oppressive structure of their society

Many times we too have called upon God to change certain structures in society. Is God playing deaf to our prayer considering that up to now society is still enmeshed in sinful structures? We find the answer in today’s Gospel message. Before asking for a miraculous change of our structures, we need to change our hearts first. For if God were to change the structure but the people continued sinning, society could easily revert to its original sinful condition. To change society, we too should become what Israel later became as described by Cardinal Ratzinger: “Ardently reaching out towards a kingdom whose king would no longer be simply a man but God himself, the true Lord of the world and history”.